Before starting in archaeology Kevin trained as a foundry engineer and remains interested in metals and materials. He read archaeology at Leicester and then spent 29 years as archaeologist at the North Lincolnshire Museum where, having to cover all periods of the past, he became a generalist. While at the Museum he excavated some important Anglo-Saxon sites including the Cleatham cemetery, which formed the basis of his Nottingham PhD. He started recording metal detector finds more than 40 years ago when he saw how ploughing was destroying sites.

Kevin has written a number of books including 'Anglo-Saxon Crafts', 'The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Lindsey' 'Interrupting the Pots; Excavation of Cleatham Anglo-Saxon Cemetery' and 'The Hidden Valley; Finding the Anglo-Saxons. Retiring from the museum in 2007 he now works for the PAS as a National Finds Advisor covering the early Medieval period but also assisting with flint and stone.

While with the PAS he was responsible for the first catalogue of the great Staffordshire Hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure, a project with which he remains involved. He edits the reports on Early Medieval Treasure.